With only about 2 weeks until I leave for the World Race, I envision myself on a track about to begin a running race. I’m in a starting position and someone says, “On Your Marks…Get Set…”, and I’m waiting to hear the gun to start running. People are watching, but they’re staying in the stands. In that moment, I’m focused and know that I’m about to run. That moment always seems like it lasts a lot longer than it actually does.
I ran in track in jr. high and high school, so I’m really familiar with what it is like to be about to start a race. I’d train with my team as well as individually, I’d have some goals set for myself, I’d have gotten some encouragement from my coaches, parents, and teammates, and I’d have felt so many different emotions of excitement and nervousness. There’s times when I’d be excited and certain that I could complete the race well and times when I’d wonder why I was even doing the race. Usually the times when I’d wonder why I was even doing the race were right before it. What if it didn’t turn out how I wanted it to? Was it worth all the work, pain, and uncertainty? I had hoped it was if I was in the starting blocks. And at the end of every race, regardless of how it turned out, I always felt it was worthwhile. I also remember always going to my dad after the race to see how he thought I did.
In 1 Corinthians 9:24-27, Paul parallels the Christian life/living a life following Christ to a runner running a race, "Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified."
I think this is a great vision for me and my teammates to have for the World Race- to do it in such a way that it earns a prize; to not do it aimlessly; but with discipline. Not for our glory, but for the glory of God.
Everyone lives life, but not everyone lives it in such a way that merits a prize in the end. The ultimate reward is to be with God; and you can only obtain that along with salvation and forgiveness if you believe and follow Jesus. Without Jesus, the penalty of your sins isn’t paid. The good works that you do won’t get you to God and Heaven, only Christ will. But that doesn’t mean that what we do on earth doesn’t matter. If you really love God, you’ll do what He says, and the Bible says that God will give us rewards in Heaven based on how we live our lives today. Sometimes things will be really hard in life in order to get to the prize, but it's so worth it. The suffering today is nothing compared to the joys to come. Christians don’t live aimlessly, but live life with a purpose. Some people live life for temporary rewards, but Christians live for an eternal reward which is Christ and His Kingdom. We are to make sure that we’re not hypocrites and we are to obey Christ because we’re telling others to-just like a runner who's telling his teammates to train- that runner must train himself. When our lives end, or when the race ends, don’t we want our Father to say "Nice job!!!" or “Well done, good and faithful servant.”?
